


Summer Tea

by Enigmusatrum



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Gen, Summer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 08:02:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20327794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigmusatrum/pseuds/Enigmusatrum
Summary: In a world with powers, Taylor Herbert searches for a summer job.





	1. Chapter 1

Flush 1.1

Just five more minutes until summer vacation and all I could think was, and then what?

Mr. Quinlan had stopped trying to rein in conversation this close to break and I was doing my best to remain unnoticed while everyone around me broke off into their friend groups to catch up on the last of the gossip before math class ended. I overheard some of the more social students discussing their plans for vacations or the summer jobs that they were eager to begin working. Nobody had tried making conversation with me as classes ended but I didn’t really notice. I was more concerned with making it to the several month departure from the hell that was Winslow without Emma, Madison, and Sophia shoving me in a locker or pushing me down the stairs.

Class ended and it took everything in me not to rush the door. Leave too fast and I’d be easier to spot, wait too long and I wouldn’t be able to hide in the crowd. Flight and freeze warring inside me I made it out the front steps of Winslow before hearing my name.

“Hey Hebert!” I turned to see the trio gathered at the top of the steps and I took off running. I held my breath as I got on the bus. I expected Sophia to give chase, but nobody ran after me. I guess they just felt like terror today instead more physical means of bullying. When the doors closed, I finally let out a sigh of relief. The bus started to move and considered what I could do with my newfound summer freedom.

Out of the options I’d considered, trying to get a summer job seemed to be promising. The businesses on the Boardwalk always needed to hire on summer employees to deal with the extra beachfront traffic, and teenagers were an easily exploitable workforce. I didn’t really have experience working in customer service, but there weren’t really many other options if you just wanted a job for the summer.

I got off of the bus a block away from my house, enjoying a bit of the warm summer breeze as I walked the rest of the way home. Once inside the house, it was time to do a bit more research on which Boardwalk shops might be looking for an extra boost of summer employees. With pen in hand I started copying down my list of names.

The first few results were all places I knew I’d never get a job at. Once I managed to filter the results down to restaurants and cafes things got a little more promising. At the top of the list was one of the more well known pizzerias on the Boardwalk. The manager seemed to hire mostly students, and the job paid surprisingly well. With my list finished I wandered into the kitchen to see what could be put together for dinner. 

With some water on to boil and a jar of pasta sauce, dinner was taken care of for tonight. Usually I’d wait and eat dinner with dad when he got back from the dockworkers association, but tonight I hoped I could get a little more done than another awkward and wordless dinner. He’d been withdrawn since mom died, and most of his time was spent at the office managing contracts for Brockton Bay’s thriving shipping industry.

After eating my own share of pasta I put the rest in tupperware and left a note on the table for dad. I told him I was headed out to the Boardwalk and that I wouldn’t be too late getting back. I grabbed my keys, some money, and my little bottle of pepper spray and took off to the bus stop. As I stepped onto the bus I made myself a promise.

Today, I got a summer job.

While on the bus I reviewed my list and watched as the storefronts came into view. The first few places I could see from the bus were clubs, so there wasn’t even a chance of working there, but a few blocks later marked the bus stop and the leading edge of the Boardwalk. The bus stop was directly adjacent to the Boardwalk Central Plaza, home to an odd collection of stores, and the Ward’s Pizzaria. Once off the bus I got my bearings and started walking to the first job application of the day. As I passed the familiar storefronts along I tried to calm my nerves about this first stop. They hired mostly students, but I had to hope that it wouldn’t be just like high school with better pizza. Everyone always reviewed the service very highly, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a nice face that the student staff put forward to avoid getting in trouble, just like Emma and Madison. 

The entrance loomed just ahead of me, with promises of dollar slices and cold drinks. I waited just outside for a couple of seconds while I braced myself to walk in. Finally working up the courage I pushed the door open ringing the bell and stepping into the air conditioned shop. A couple of tourists were being helped by a red-headed boy of about my age who paused in their service just long enough to utter a quick “Someone will be with you momentarily” before getting back to his current customers. 

I waited at the counter for a moment before the boy called into the back for help.

“You’re on the clock, the least you could do is pretend to work?” I could hear some movement in the back as someone stood up from a chair with a grumble and started to walk towards the front.

“Shut your mouth I’m coming!” My heart sank as my blood turned to ice. As the footsteps finally exited the back room the approaching girl spoke again.

“Okay, What can” -she stopped as she saw me standing out front- “What the fuck are you doing here Hebert?”

I ran back out the door without another word. I had to find a place to calm down but I wasn’t paying attention to where. I just kept thinking this couldn’t be happening. This place was known for having good upstanding people working there and instead I come face to face with one of my tormentors. My best chance at a summer position ruined because of the same bullshit that ruined school.

Sophia Hess worked at Ward’s Pizzeria.


	2. Flush 1.2

Flush 1.2

I ran down the boardwalk away from Ward’s and away from Sophia’s angry glare. I felt misty-eyed as tears started to well up and changed course to one of the alleys that cut behind the storefronts for some peace to deal with what I was feeling. After confirming that I was finally alone with my thoughts I slumped against the back wall of one of the stores.

I couldn’t believe that a shop with such a good reputation would hire someone as violently aggressive as that bitch. I knew there were other places I could apply to, but Ward’s was a chance at maybe interacting with people my age that didn’t come from Winslow, and from what I’d heard, everyone else who worked there attended Arcadia. 

Before my thoughts could stop racing, the door next to me opened and someone stepped into the alleyway. A tall, thin asian man with severe features looked my way briefly before turning to walk down the alley with bags of trash in hand. He tossed the bags in the nearest dumpster, and quickly turned to walk back into the shop without paying me any mind. This interruption managed to distract me enough that I wasn’t still runaway thinking about Sophia and Ward’s.

Standing to leave the alley and try to get back to job hunting, the door near me crashed open. I jumped and moved closer to the stability of the wall as the door weakly creaked as the door attempted to close again.

“What is this I hear about kids loitering about my territory?” A gravely and heavily accented voice boomed from the doorway as two people exited the building. 

The wiry man from before stepped aside to hold the door open as a thickly muscled man with dragon tattoos running over both arms stepped out and turned to face me. He kept his arms crossed over his black polo and spoke again.

“I do not want children hanging around my shop” His eyes narrowed as he spoke to me. His arms fell to his sides as he began to prowl further into the alley “Lee, please escort this ruffian back to the streets where they belong”

The wiry man started to stride towards me and I turned, ready to run away for the second time today. Before I could take more than a couple of steps, the door ahead of me, from one of the buildings on the other side of the alley, opened up, revealing a dark blond girl maybe a couple of years older than me. I almost kept moved past, but something about the girl’s inquisitive look in my direction slowed me down.

The blond looked between me and the two men for a moment before smiling at me. “Oh there you are! I’m sorry about retrieving you late, I got held up with a talkative customer.”

I stopped, taking a moment to consider what she was saying, almost looking around to see if someone else was there that she must be talking to. I managed to force out a meek “yeah” before turning to face the two behind me. She looked past me and continued speaking.

“I’m really sorry that I left her out here for so long, I just lost track of time while chatting with customers and didn’t realize that I still had to come out and grab our applicant so we could interview”

The wiry one, who I reminded myself was apparently named Lee, still stood there with a blank expression, but the tattooed man was seething as he turned to reenter his store with a dismissive grunt.

“See that you keep any future potentials away from Azn Blossom Brewers door.”

I briefly recalled a tea-house by that name in my job research as I turned to face the blonde once again. It was a consideration to apply to work there, but reviews had said that the owner was more than a little temperamental, and that his only current employee seemed to be lurking everywhere in the store. That was enough for it to go at the bottom of my list.

My vision settled back onto the girl in front of me. I took note of the dusting of freckles across her nose before noticing that her smile had widened into a grin.

“So now that I’ve got Lee and Mr. Kenta off your back, you should introduce yourself to your selfless savior.”

I blinked a few times and groaned internally, realizing that the situation had only gotten more complicated with this interjection. I didn’t respond for a moment, prompting an expectant glance and an anticipatory “So?” from the blonde. I tried to work up the nerve to have an actual conversation, but as I opened my mouth to speak I was interrupted.

“What were you doing back here in the alley anyway? Most people know to stay on the Boardwalk proper, unless they’re tourists, but you don’t really look like a tourist, so you must be a local with a reason to be back here.”

“I’m Taylor” I finally managed to squeak out at the chatty girl.

“Well Taylor, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Lisa, and I’m wondering if you might be interested in a job.”


End file.
